BEIRUTE (AP) – A German company is ready to remove hazardous materials stored in dozens of containers at the port of Beirut, the German ambassador to Lebanon said on Saturday after efforts to secure the installation after the August 4 explosion that devastated the port and much of the city.
Ambassador Andreas Kindl tweeted that the treatment at the port of Beirut for 52 containers of “hazardous and hazardous chemical materials” has been completed. He added that the material is ready to be shipped to Germany.
The decision to remove the material came after the August 4 explosion, which was triggered by nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a component of highly explosive fertilizer, which had languished at the port for years. The blast killed 211 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed parts of the capital.
In November, Lebanon signed an agreement with Germany’s Combi Lift to treat and ship containers that consisted of flammable chemicals. The deal is worth $ 3.6 million, for which Lebanese port authorities paid $ 2 million, with the German government covering the rest.
Kindl said the material treated was a threat to people in Beirut.
Since the August explosion and a major fire at the port weeks later, authorities have been concerned about the hazardous material still in the facility. A month after the explosion, the Lebanese army said military experts were called in for an inspection and found 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that were removed and destroyed.